Determined Louth too strong for O'Bric's Royals
Cathal O'Bric's Meath were no match for a talented hungry Louth side in the Leinster u-20 final at Newbridge
Louth 2-2-15 (25)
Meath 1-3-9 (18)
Meath's journey in the u-20 championship for 2025 ended on Wednesday night when they were defeated by a talented Louth outfit in the Leinster Final at Newbridge on Wednesday evening.
Between the 33rd minute and the 41st minute, Louth rattled off 0-8 in what was a definitive period in the outcome. Meath tried to fight back into the contest with two-pointer attempts but their efforts were largely futile.
The contest started at a ferocious pace and that intensity lasted the entirety of the first-half. Louth were hungry and determined. Meath were slightly more selective with their decisions all the while trying to match the pace set by the men in red. However, it was the wee county that held a half-time lead of three points.
An onslaught from Louth in the third quarter was ultimately Meath's downfall and Louth were crowned Leinster u-20 champions.
Rian Stafford got Meath underway before Louth's James Maguire hit a two-pointer which leapfrogged them into the lead. Shane Lennon, brother of Louth senior star Craig, followed up with a point before Eamonn Armstrong curbed Louth's momentum with a point.
Rian Stafford had an effort blocked down but the ball bounced nicely for Meath captain, Tadhg Martyn and the Slane man produced a bullet shot past Tiarnan Markey in the Louth net.
Jamie Murphy followed Martyn's goal up with a point which left the Royals with a 1-3 to 0-3 lead after 10 minutes. At the 15-minute marker, Louth hit back with a goal of their own through Adam Gillespie which leveled the sides once more.
Well-struck points from Murphy and Armstrong edged Meath two points in front again before the men in red rattled off three points, the third of which was a well-hit 45' from the net-minder Markey, which put Louth back in front.
Markey then made a mistake with one of his kick-outs and Zach Thorton capitalised, which left the sides level at 1-6 apiece after 25 minutes. Staying in tune with the fast-paced see-saw nature of the opening-half Tadgh McDonnell put Louth up by one again before Rian Stafford was handed a golden opportunity to score Meath's second goal. Stafford's shot was off his weaker right foot and the effort failed to cause any issue for Markey.
A late addition to the Louth starting 15, Tony McDonnell, doubled their advantage before Meath were hit with a hammer blow when Darragh Dorian set up Pearse Grimes Murphy for Louth's second-goal.
A fantastic two-pointer courtesy of Murphy brought Meath back to within a score of the opposition and at the interval Louth led 2-8 to 1-8.
Murphy then kicked off proceedings for the second-half with a free before Louth took complete control of momentum. During a fruitful period for Fergal Reel's men, both Gillespie and Maguire fisted over Matthew Kealy's crossbar, Dorian contributed with two nice points, Gillespie and Tony McDonnell added two more before Tadgh McDonnell delivered the knockout blow of a two-pointer.
Louth had just struck 0-8 without reply in eight minutes and they were yet to miss the target in the second-half.
Michael McIvor finally ended the barron period for Meath with one of his trademark long-range two-pointers. Finn White also added his name to the scoresheet.
Louth kept the foot on the pedal and points from the two McDonnells, Tony and Tadgh, handed the wee county a 2-18 to 1-12 advantage after 47 minutes.
Murphy pulled one back for Meath before Louth finally hit their first wide of the second-half in the 54th minute. Meath spent the remainder trying to chase the game with two-point efforts but only once were they successful, through Michael McIvor in the 56th minute.
Louth closed out the contest with one more point courtesy of Tony McDonnell and ended their 43-year wait for a u-20 Leinster title.
Louth - Tiarnan Markey (0-1 one 45'); Michael Reid, Cormac McKeown, Padraic Tinnelly; Tadgh McDonnell (0-4 one two-point), Keelin Martin, Conor McGinty; Sean Callaghan, James Maguire (0-3 one two-point); Shane Lennon (0-1), Conor Mac Criosta, Pearse Grimes-Murphy (1-1); Adam Gillespie (1-3 one free), Tony McDonnell (0-4 one free), Darragh Dorian (0-2). Subs - Dylan Shevlin for Mac Criosta 53m,
Meath - Matthew Kealy; Sam Jordan, Rian Early, Ciaran O'Hare; Tadgh Martyn (1-0), Fiach Hartigan, Finn White (0-1); Eamonn Armstrong (0-2), Michael McIvor (0-4 two two-point); Rian Stafford (0-1), John Harkin, Zach Thornton (0-1); Ben Corkery, Jamie Murphy (0-6 two frees, one two-point), Liam Jennings. Subs - Michael O'Sullivan for Jennings, Cillian Yore for Hartigan both 42m, Pat Crawley for Corkery, Sean Betson for Thornton both 48m, Conor O'Brien for Betson 58m
Referee - Ian Howley (Dublin)